Here we go. Another chapter of my Vanguard fic. We last left off at the cemetery where Aichi was visiting his Dad. He was then approached by a man. His name wasn't given but Aichi definitely knew him. And now he plans on fighting him on the day after tomorrow. But what he didn't realize was someone was watching him ever since he set foot in the cemetery. Misaki. And now, onto the fic.
The Sendou household has been quiet ever since Aichi left. Emi had already left for Card Capital, leaving Shizuka Sendou alone in the house. As she cleaned the dishes from the breakfast she and Emi had, she couldn't help but look towards the picture on the windowsill above the sink. Up front was Aichi as young and innocent as any child would be at that age.
Behind him on the right stood her. She had started wearing a long azure dress after the baby bump from Emi started showing. She also had her hair down back then, but after Emi was born, she always kept it in a ponytail for fear of constantly reminding Aichi of that day.
Speaking of which, right next to her in the photo stood her one true love, Kohaku Sendou. Every year when this day comes by, she would always remember all the times she and her husband had shared throughout their lives. A smile never fails to appear on her face when she thought of how they met. She was a new girl in school and was especially shy. That had changed when she met Kohaku. Though one year above her, they would do everything together. A tear would fall whenever she thinks of how he proposed to her. Under a full moon at the spot where they had their first kiss.
Then the tears really started to flow when she thought of when Aichi was born. Ever since, Kohaku had never failed to be there for him. Like Aichi, Kohaku played Vanguard. He was one of the best Royal Paladin users in the game and had promised to teach Aichi when he was old enough. Unfortunately, his skill in Vanguard also made him appear in their lives.
The young widow would never forgive that man for taking her love away, for preventing Emi to grow up with a father. But most of all, she will never forgive him for severing the bond between Kohaku and Aichi.
Just then, the doorbell went off. Shizuka quickly wiped her tears before moving to the door. She opened it and saw that there was a letter in the mailbox. She took it out and looked at the name. When she did however, her face has gone as pale as a ghost as her legs wobbled.
"N-no. I-it's not p-possible." She stuttered before her legs gave in from shock.
Meanwhile, at Card Capital, Misaki had gotten back a long while ago and was manning the counter while everyone else was Cardfighting. She couldn't help but think about what she saw back at the graveyard. When she saw Aichi walking past the graveyard, she noticed how sad he was. Fearing that he was thinking about the Psyqualia incident again, she quickly followed him to make sure he didn't do anything drastic.
She was surprised when she saw him enter the very same cemetery her parents were buried in. The violet haired girl hurriedly took another entrance to the graveyard, and after finding Aichi, hid in a group of trees. She couldn't hear what he was saying since she was so far away. But when she saw the blue haired boy turn to see the black coated man, she could make out several feelings Aichi had in his eyes. Shock, fear, and anger.
It was strange to see all three of those emotions in him. She couldn't help but worry for him. She didn't look at who's grave Aichi was visiting, fearing she may have seen too much. What really worries her is what that man wanted with Aichi.
Ever since she had her first fight against Aichi, she couldn't help but feel a bit attracted to him for some reason. Was it the childlike innocence? The way he looked brave whenever he played his avatar, Blaster Blade? The way his voice gets into her very soul? The way his eyes are like deep pools that she always feel entranced when she stares into-
"Get back on topic, Misaki! Something is wrong with Aichi and you have no idea what!" The violet haired girl let out a sad sigh, worrying about the boy who has captured her heart.
"Misaki?" Emi's voice snapped Misaki out of her thoughts. She turned to see the brown haired girl looking at her, worried.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. Not wanting Emi to get involved, Misaki tried to put on a brave smile and shook her head.
"No, I'm alright. I was just thinking." But Emi wasn't buying it. She saw that her big sister figure was worried about something. It was just like with her brother and mother.
Every year around this time, she would find those two with saddened looks on their faces. Whenever she would ask what was wrong, she would always get the same answer. "I'm fine Emi. It's nothing to worry about."
"No, you're hiding something." Misaki was taken aback by the little girl's response.
"It's bad enough that I get this from Aichi and Mom. I won't take it from you. Please, tell me what's wrong."
Misaki was saved from answering Emi's pleas because that's when the door opened. Everyone looked to see who it was and Emi was shocked at who.
Standing there, panting from running, was Shizuka Sendou.
"Mom?" Emi hurried over to check on her.
"E-Emi *huff**huff* I-is Aichi here? P-please tell me Aichi is here." But Emi merely shook her head. Right then, Shizuka started crying, falling on her knees. Emi couldn't help but worry, but not as much as Misaki. "Oh no! Did something happen to Aichi after I left him alone? Is he hurt? Or even worse, is he-"
"M-Mom?" A familiar voice broke Misaki from her inner rant. Everyone turned to the door see Aichi.
"Mom, what happened?" He asked hurrying to check on her. When he saw that his mother wasn't home, he hurried to Card Capital, worrying if he did anything to his family before seeing him at the cemetery.
"A-Aichi." Shizuka let out before grabbing onto him, pulling him into an embrace.
"T-thank goodness you're alright." She cried into him. Aichi simply returned it, thankful that his mother was alright.
"What do you mean? Is Aichi in some sort of trouble?" Emi asked. Shizuka broke from the hug turned to Emi, as if wondering if she should tell her.
"Um, excuse me?" The Sendous turned to see Shin Nitta.
"I can see this is a family matter. Would you like use the back room to talk?" He offered. Shizuka couldn't have been more grateful. After wiping her tears, she nodded. Getting up, she turned to her son.
"Aichi, I think it's time to tell her the truth." Aichi nodded at that before he said, "I want to tell the others in Q4 as well." Shizuka was ready to protest when Aichi held out his hand.
"They're in as much danger as me. I need to make sure they know about the danger they're facing."
As soon as those words left Aichi's mouth, his teammates couldn't help but be curious as to what danger they could be in. Shizuka let out a sigh before letting out a sad smile.
"You act more and more like him every day." She said, which led her son to make a sad smile of his own.
The family made their way to the shop's back room, with Aichi gesturing his team to follow them. Not only did Misaki, Kai, and Kamui follow, but Shin as well seeing as he is the team's manager. Miwa, acting quickly, hurried to the counter to deal with any customers.
Team Q4 and the Sendou family are now assembled in the back, waiting. Shizuka and Aichi each had a glass of water to calm down.
"Alright. Now where to begin?" Shizuka asked.
"Maybe you can start with why you came to Card Capital looking for Big Bro Aichi." Kamui suggested. Shizuka was a bit confused as to why he called Aichi 'Big Bro' but decided to follow the suggestion.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the envelope she received in the mail. Aichi gasped, haven't seen it before.
"I found this in the mail. There was no return address, only a name telling who it was from. That's when I started worrying about Aichi and hurried over to here." Shizuka explained. Everyone took a closer look but Aichi, seeing as he knows who it was from.
As they looked at the name, everyone's faces except for Emi and Kamui gone slightly pale.
"N-no way." Shin denied.
"I don't believe it." Kai said, not stuttering but still shocked at who was out to get them.
Misaki didn't say anything, just looked at Aichi, worried for his safety.
"What's this person have to do with this?" Emi asked, not getting why everyone is scared.
"Yeah. What does this 'Takeshi Nishino' have to do with this?" Kamui asked, seeing everyone but Emi flinch.
Kai decided to explain, not wanting to beat around the bush. "Takeshi Nishino is a serial killer. His victims normally consist of skilled Vanguard players."
Misaki continued from there. "He used to play Vanguard himself. He was even a regional champion. That is until his humiliating defeat one year after he got his title."
Shin took over at that time. "His first victims were his former teammates, who turned out gave away his strategies to the team that took his title away in exchange of 10,000,000 yen. Ever since then, he would target any Vanguard player who has been making names for themselves, fight them, and then kill them. Whether they win or lose is unknown due to him being long gone by the time the body is found."
Although Kamui started going pale when he realized he's a target himself, Emi didn't understand why this Nishino person would be going after them specifically. "But why would this guy go after you guys in particular?"
"Because of me." Aichi spoke for the first time. Everyone looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean?" Misaki asked, scared of the answer.
Shizuka started to answer for him. "It's because Nishino's last victim was-"
"Mom!" Aichi interrupted. Shizuka looked at her confused. "I think it would be best if I told them." Shizuka looked unsure, but nodded nonetheless.
"The last victim of Nishino's killing spree…was Kohaku Sendou." Everyone except him and his mother gasped when the name 'Sendou' was mentioned.
"Y-you mean…" Shin said, unable to finish.
"The last victim…was my dad." Aichi said, with a saddened tone.
Emi was in shock. The reason she grew up without a father…was because he died at the hands of a madman?
Aichi wanted to stop right there, but he knew he shouldn't. "They deserve to know." With that thought, Aichi began the story of that day.
*Flashback in Aichi's POV*
About eight years ago, my parents and I were at the park in the afternoon. Mom was 4 months pregnant with Emi, so the baby bump was already showing. Dad and I were playing a game of hide and seek.
"…8…9…10! Ready or not, here I come!" Dad called out. The park may have been a big place, but Dad knew me so well, that he knew I wouldn't go too far. He started looking around him.
"Where could he be?" He wondered aloud.
"You better not take too long like a year ago." Mom said, making Dad flinch.
"Game gets dragged out one time, and you just can't let it go, can you?"
"Not when it's dragged out till Nightfall." Mom pointed out.
"Hey! In my defense, we didn't set any limits that time. This time it's different."
The banter would have gone on longer if I hadn't let out that scream.
Dropping the banter, my dad hurried over to where my scream came from. When he arrived, he stopped in shock.
Takeshi Nishino had a knife to my throat. He wore a black collared coat with bloodstains on the sleeves. He also wore a black shirt with a demonic looking skull on it, black pants, and brown cargo boots.
"Don't move, or your boy may have a cut that just might need more than a bandage." He threatened.
"D-Dad, I'm scared." I stuttered, too scared to move.
My Dad knew who he was because any Vanguard player who makes it high on any official tournaments are warned about him.
"What do you want?" Dad asked. "To fight of course." Nishino said.
"Just let my son go, and we'll fight alright." Dad said.
"You know me better than that. Or at least I should hope so." Nishino decided to cut to the chase.
"Meet me at the docks. Warehouse 666 at 6:30. If you bring anything and anyone other than your deck into the building, you will never see your runt again." Nishino was careful with his words. He wants people to be there after he gets the job done.
With that threat hanging, he took off. With me in his clutches. He stuffed me in a windowless black van he had waiting, tied me up, and took off to the aforementioned warehouse. He wrapped a chain on me, attached a hook to the chain, and raised me up. I was between crates and there were no lights on me, so I was basically hidden in the shadows.
Sure enough, five minutes before 6, there was my dad, his deck at the ready.
"I see you arrived early."
"Where is Aichi? If you did anything to him-" "Relax, pops. Your kid is safe." Nishino took out a remote and flipped a switch to turn on the lights. Dad turned and saw me.
"But before you can both walk away, you know what you have to do first." In between Nishino and Dad, two fight tables had risen up. There were these black Vanguard gloves attached to them. They approached the tables closest to them, and set everything up for their fights.
"Are you ready to scream?" Nishino asked. "Oh I'm ready. But I'm not the one who will scream." Dad retorted.
"Stand up! Vanguard!"
I was too busy struggling out of my bonds to pay attention to the fight, but I did see one unit. And it was one I rather not describe.
"Final Attack!" Nishino shouted. "Aaah!" My Dad shouted in pain. He was in so much pain that blood started to flow.
"No!" I shouted. With one final struggle, I was free. I hurried over to my Dad who was trying to gather up his cards. He was able to put them away before collapsing.
"Hmph! And here I thought you were tough." Nishino said before he took out a match. That's when we realized that all of the crates around us had several tanks of gasoline. With a flick of the wrist, he tossed the lit match to a random crate, causing a fire to start and spread out quickly.
I didn't realize it, but there was a beam right above us. Dad did however. "Aichi, look out!" Dad shouted, quickly shoving me out of the way. The beam came down on Dad, landing on his legs.
"I'd say 'see you again', but I'd be lying!" Nishino shouted before making his escape. "Dad!" I shouted, running to him.
"Aichi, you need to go." From the way my Dad sounded, he was getting weaker and weaker.
"No! I can't!" I was on the brink of tears. Dad took out his deck.
"Protect him everyone." With those words, he gave me his deck, and with the last of his strength, tossed me over to the exit as the rest of the warehouse started crashing down on him.
"NOOOOO!"
*Flashback End*
"After that, I told the police what kind of van Nishino used. It turned out to be his regular getaway van, so it was easy to track him at that point. The police told me I was the only one to survive an encounter with Takeshi Nishino." Aichi ended his explanation.
"Ever since that day, on the anniversary of Kohaku's death, Aichi would always visit his grave." Shizuka said.
Everyone was shocked, but none more than Misaki. "Poor Aichi. While there are orphans who lost their parents, Aichi actually had to live with witnessing his father's death." She thought, tears forming from the sadness of the story.
"W-what did the letter say?" Kamui asked.
"Actually, the minute I saw who it was from, I hurried here as quickly as possible." Shizuka said.
"Maybe, if we read the letter, we can figure out where and when he would strike next." Shin suggested. Shizuka gave a nod at that, but Aichi didn't look so sure.
Shizuka hurriedly opened the letter and looked at the words.
CoMe tO ThE pLacE whEre EveRyThiNg BegAn SO IT sHaLl be wheRE iT eNdS
Everyone was confused as to what the words mean. It looked like the message was made out of several newspaper and magazine articles so it wouldn't be necessary to write it out.
"'Come to the place where everything began…" Aichi started. "…so it shall be where it ends?" Misaki finished, confused. "What does it mean?" Emi asked. No one knew how to answer that.
Shin decided to change the subject. "At any rate, I should notify the tournament officials that Nishino is on the loose in case they don't already know." With that, Shin moved to the nearest phone to place the call.
"Where will you guys stay?" Kamui asked, looking toward the family of three. "I mean, if this guy knows where you live, then staying there would be too frisky." He pointed.
"'Frisky'?" Aichi repeated.
"I think you mean 'risky'." Misaki corrected. Kamui let out an embarrassed blush.
"At any rate, he's right." Kai said. "It would be too dangerous for you to stay where you are." Aichi couldn't argue with that logic.
"But where are we going to go?" Emi asked. Misaki had one idea, and it would guarantee her the chance to make sure nothing happens to Aichi or his family.
"You can stay with us." At that point, Shin walked in, having warned the Vanguard committee about Takeshi Nishino.
"Come again?" Shin asked. Misaki turned to him. "If Aichi and his family stay with us, the chances of Nishino catching us off guard are practically non-existent." She argued.
"But are you sure you don't mind?" Aichi asked. Misaki turned to him and let out a soft smile. "Of course I don't mind." She said.
Shin could tell that there was no way Misaki would let this go. "Okay. They can stay here." He said.
The Sendou family turned to him, shocked that he agreed.
Shizuka then let out a smile. "Thank you." She said. Shin nodded.
"At any rate. The officials know that Nishino is on the loose so the tournament will be postponed for two weeks. If he isn't caught by then, they'll call it off." Shin said, which Team Q4 nodded. After all, no title is worth dying for.
With that, the Sendou family hurried over to their house to get everything ready for their stay with Misaki and Shin. The moment they entered the house, they split up and started packing what they needed. Shizuka made sure to pack a few photos that she couldn't bear to part with. Emi kept what she packed simple. Aichi however had packed more than just a few clothes. He also packed three Vanguard Decks. First there was the Shadow Paladin Deck Ren gave him. Then there was his Royal Paladin Deck. The last one was a deck he'd never thought of picking up for a long time. His father's Royal Paladin Deck.
As Aichi looked at the three decks, he couldn't help but think of the memories each one has. First there was his father's deck, which he had never touched ever since his father passed away. Then there was his own Royal Paladin deck. He couldn't help but smile at the many friends this deck helped him make. But the smile vanished whenever he looked at the Shadow Paladin deck. All of the pain he inflicted, how scared his friends looked. While he still could not forgive himself, he knew he was going to need all of the help he can get for his fight against Nishino.
Soon enough, they were standing outside Card Capital. Misaki noticed the Sendou family from her spot on the counter.
"Shin, I'm going to show Aichi and his family to their rooms!" Misaki called out. Before the manager could let out a response, the violet haired teen was already out the door and showing the Sendous to where they lived, which turned out to be right next to the shop.
"Okay you three. We were able to clear out a couple of rooms for you to stay in. Mrs. Sendou, you can stay in the guest room and Aichi, we were able to clear a room for you to sleep in." Misaki said.
"Wait a minute. What about me?" Emi asked.
"Simple. You'll be sleeping with me." Misaki said. Emi let out a smile as a response, glad she would be sleeping with the girl she sees as a sister.
Just then, a loud crashing was heard from above. Misaki, thinking quickly, hurried upstairs. At that moment, Shin entered just in time to hear Misaki's shout of frustration.
"Misaki, what's wrong?" Misaki didn't say anything, so everyone there walked upstairs to see Misaki glaring inside a room. Everyone looked to see boxes toppled over. It was practically a sea of cardboard.
"Which room is this?" Aichi asked.
"This room was supposed to be where you were going to sleep." Misaki said to Aichi.
"Then where will Aichi sleep now?" Emi asked.
"Well, I could sleep on the couch." Aichi suggested.
But Misaki shook her head. "No. The only one who could sleep on the couch comfortably is Sub Manager."
"There's got to be another way." Shin said. Everyone thought long and hard about how they were going to solve this problem.
Emi then snapped her fingers. "I know. I can sleep in the guest room with Mom while Aichi stays with Misaki!"
Aichi and Misaki both sported faces so red it puts Dragonic Overlord to shame. "WHAT?!"
"I have no problems sleeping with Emi." Shizuka said.
Aichi, still blushing, looked towards Misaki who was doing the same to him.
"Well…if it helps him avoid the couch." Misaki muttered.
"Perfect. Then it's decided. I'll show Emi and her mother to the guest room. Misaki, you take Aichi to your room." Shin said cheerfully while leading Shizuka and Emi to their room.
"Come on, Aichi. I'll show you to my room." Misaki said, unable to suppress the blush on her face. Aichi merely nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment.
As Misaki opened the door to her room, Aichi took notice of how neat she kept it.
"I hope you'll like it here, Aichi." Misaki said, after getting rid of the blush. Aichi, still red in the face, merely nodded. "You can take my bed. I can always use the futon I keep in my closet whenever I have a friend over." Misaki said.
But Aichi shook his head, finally rid of the blush. "No, Misaki. You can take the bed. I'll take the futon. After all, I'll only be here for a couple of da- Weeks! I mean a couple of weeks." He said, trying to cover the slip up. After all, if he took the futon, he can sneak out of Misaki's bedroom to get ready for his fight with Nishino.
Misaki wasn't fooled, but let it rest for now. After taking the futon out, Misaki and Aichi laid it down on the floor next to Misaki's bed.
"If you need anything, just let me know okay." Misaki said.
"I will. Thanks again for letting us stay here Misaki." Aichi said.
"It's no problem Aichi. After all, you and your family did so much for me." Misaki said. Aichi looked confused at that statement.
"What did we do?" Aichi asked. Misaki let out a gentle smile. "You were my first opponent in Vanguard. And when I was planning on quitting Team Q4 after remembering my parents' deaths, it was Emi who taught me to think of all the good times I've had with my parents instead of the bad. You and Emi have become a part of my life. And no matter what happens, I'll always hold you close to my heart."
Aichi couldn't help but feel touched by what she said, so he gave a smile back. "Funny, I always felt you were the one who did so much for me. Ever since I started going to Card Capital, you always tried to help me one way or another. You taught me the importance of Grade 3's, and ever since I've begun to grow as I play Vanguard more and more. And regardless of what happened, you were always with me every step of the way. Just like I've become a part of your life, you've become a part of mine. No matter what kind of troubles I face, I'll never forget you as long as I live, Misaki Tokura."
Misaki almost felt as though she was going to tear up at the touching words. As the two gazed in each other's eyes, it felt as though the world around them had faded. Though it was unknown why, there was a force drawing them and closer and closer. They held on to each other as they got even closer. Their lips' were only an inch apart when…
"Aichi! Misaki!" Emi's voice shouted from the hallway, snapping the two out of it. They quickly let go of each other and stepped away from each other, their faces a tomato red.
Emi was at the doorway a second later, after following Shin's directions. "Dinner is ready, you two." She then noticed that her brother and sister figure acting strange. "Um… Is something wrong?" She asked.
Misaki and Aichi both shook their heads. "It's nothing Emi." Misaki said. "Yeah, we were just getting a futon ready for me to sleep in." Aichi added. Since it was partially the truth, Emi believed them.
"Okay, but like I said, it's time to eat." She said, before heading to the kitchen. It was at that point the two stopped blushing.
"Well, we should hurry to dinner." Misaki said, slightly disappointed.
"R-right." Aichi said, still trying to believe what nearly happed.
With that, they began making their way to dinner, their minds lingering to what had occurred only a minute ago.
And that's Chapter Two. With a wanted fugitive on the loose, the Sendous living at Misaki's place, and things heating up between Aichi and Misaki, you can bet your Deck that things will be even more interesting next chapter. While I am writing it (and working on my other two stories), be sure to leave a review.